Coal’s terrible forecast

By Gregor Macdonald September 20, 2011 There are many unfortunate outcomes to Peak Oil. One of the more serious is the world’s transition back to coal. Expensive BTU from crude oil has influenced the energy adoption pathway of the Developing World for ten years now, pushing the five billion people in the Non-OECD towards coal. […]

Will 10 billion people use up the planet’s resources?

By David Biello25 May 2011 (Scientific American) – The human enterprise now consumes nearly 60 billion metric tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and plant materials, such as crop plants and trees for timber or paper. Meanwhile, the seven billionth person on the planet is expected to be born this year—and the human population may […]

Israelis prepare for a world without cheap oil

By David Sheen 8 July 2011 The neo-liberal global economic system is on its deathbed, and Israel may soon have to provide for all of its own food and fuel needs, instead of trading for them with other countries, says a senior Israel agronomist. Dr. Elaine Soloway of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies at […]

Don Quijote and the (n)ever growing air traffic

By Matt Mushalik30 June 2011 Still looking for a 2nd Sydney airport? Want to spend millions on consultants? You can have it easier than that. Find out about the latest peak oil ignorant airport project by just typing 3 words on the internet: “Ciudad Real Airport”, formerly known as Don Quijote or Madrid South Airport, […]

Ten existential threats to global agriculture

By Steve Savage27 June 2011 I tend to be a “glass half full” sort of person, particularly about the prospects of successfully feeding the 9-10 billion people we expect by 2050.  My optimism is based on daily contact with the innovative public and private entities who develop technology for agriculture.  It is also based on […]

Global oil reserves tapped in effort to cut cost at pump – ‘You don’t get elected with gas at $4 a gallon’

By JACKIE CALMESPublished: June 23, 2011 The United States will lead an international effort to release 60 million barrels of petroleum reserves to world markets, replacing some of the oil production lost because of the conflict in Libya, the International Energy Agency announced in Paris on Thursday. The action is aimed at reducing energy prices […]

World Bank forecasts slowdown in global growth as rising commodity prices hit poorest nations

By Larry Elliott, economics editor, www.guardian.co.uk 8 June 2011 A fresh surge in oil prices and a rise in the cost of food pose the biggest threats to the recovery of poor countries from the global recession of 2008 and 2009, according to the World Bank. In its latest economic health check, the Washington-based Bank […]

Operator of the world’s largest oil tanker fleet gives up on global recovery

By Gus Lubin 25 May 2011 Norway’s Frontline, which operates the world’s largest oil tanker fleet, announced an 81-percent decline in net income for the first quarter compared to last year. The company issued a grim outlook: “It is hard to see a strong recovery in the tanker market as long as the net supply […]

Maplecroft: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and USA rated ‘high risk’ for short-term energy security

June 2 (Maplecroft) – New research that evaluates worldwide energy security, has identified the G7 economies of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and USA as being at ‘high risk’ in the short-term, whilst China and countries from the oil producing MENA region are highlighted as facing increasing challenges in the future. Risk analysis and mapping […]

Graph of the Day: World Oil Production, 0-2500 CE

By Ursula Goodenough5 May 2011 Sometimes, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. I was recently at a scientific conference on the development of sustainable biofuels, this being my lab’s research focus. Much data was presented and much was said of substance. But the one slide I made sure to get a […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial